Easton headed off by Cumberland Valley

Red Rovers fall 1-0 on second-half header, finish best season 15-9.

PIAA Soccer Championships - First Round

June 01, 2005|By Stephen Miller Of The Morning Call

The corner kicks kept coming in the first half, five of them floating toward the Easton High girls soccer team's net. The Red Rovers thwarted each one, moving to the second half of their PIAA first-round game still alive.

When Cumberland Valley earned its sixth corner kick, Easton had an idea where the ball was headed. Yet somehow, the Red Rovers lost Eagles senior Amanda Mulvey.

With the missed assignment went Easton's chance for a victory.

Mulvey's header with 18:07 to play found the net, giving Cumberland Valley the only goal in its 1-0 win Tuesday at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown.

The Eagles (13-7-3), District 3's fifth seed, advanced to Friday's PIAA quarterfinals and remained alive for a third straight appearance in the state title game. Easton (15-9), the District 11 runner-up, saw the most successful season in program history end in its first PIAA state playoff game.

"The game could have gone either way," Easton coach Tim Hall said. "It's just real unfortunate to give up a goal like that, especially with all the time we spent working on corners.

"It's either a back's fault for not clearing it or the keeper's fault."

Mulvey was determined to convert a corner after an earlier miss. With 10 seconds to go in the first half, Easton let the ball roll out of bounds, expecting to receive a goal kick. Cumberland Valley instead was awarded a corner kick, which Caitlin Pink sent to Mulvey. She headed Pink's corner off the crossbar with five seconds to go in the half.

Mulvey went lower with her next header, taking Pink's corner from the left flag after a diagonal far-post run. She drilled it inside the right post from 8 yards out.

"They played a zone, and when you play a zone on corner kicks that's a mistake against us because we're good in the air," Mulvey said.

Easton had an advantage because of its familiarity with J. Birney Crum's artificial turf, but the Eagles controlled possession. Cumberland Valley finished with a 17-5 shot advantage.

Savannah DiLauro, Stephanie Gray and Ariel Fuentes created a handful of quality scoring chances for Easton but struggled to get loose in the penalty area. Eagles goalie Hilary Smart needed only three saves for the shutout.

"To be in the state playoffs and give up that type of goal is certainly a bitter pill to swallow," Hall said. "But in hindsight these girls certainly overcame a lot.

"For them to come in and play the way that they did both in the district tournament and the state tournament, they should be proud."